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“Took you long enough to get here,” Sandy snapped at her. “But at least you got here before her lawyer has to escort her inside to get her rights read to her.”
“Good riddance, Ashlynn,” Becky said tartly. “All those years of you bitching to me about how I needed to do upgrades on the salon? Well, now I’ll have a brand new one. Yours!”
It took every ounce of willpower not to throat punch her, but thankfully the doors opened behind her and Police Chief Henry, Inspector Rowe, Chief Banks, and four uniformed police officers came out.
“Read her her rights!” Sandy demanded and then got completely flustered when two of the uniformed officers flanked her. “Wait…what…what is happening right now?”
“Sandy Hillman, you are under arrest for arson and intent to commit insurance fraud.”
“What?!”
“Becky Marshall, you are also under arrest for arson and intent to commit insurance fraud…”
Ashlynn stepped aside and watched the two women being led into the police station and almost sagged to the ground with relief.
It was finally over.
It was a little chaotic, and for the next hour she gave her statement, had the wires removed, and received multiple apologies from Chief Banks and Inspector Rowe again. Her cousin Patrick showed up with Ryder Ashford and his attorney, Evan King. Ashlynn shook his hand and thanked him profusely.
“I honestly don’t even know what to say,” she told him. “I’m not sure things would have gone this smoothly without you.”
“I’m glad I could help,” he replied and looked like he was about to say more when her siblings all came piling into the station.
“I’m so glad this is over!” Billie said as she hugged her, and Chloe came and did the same.
“Now you can finally relax, kiddo,” Levi said, joining the group hug.
“Come on,” Billie announced as she pulled back. “We need to go celebrate!”
Smiling, Ashlynn nodded. “I completely agree.”
“Patrick, Ryder, Mr. King, you’re joining us, right?” Levi asked and smiled when they all nodded.
As they began to make their way toward the exit, Ashlynn caught a glimpse of Reid and saw him nod with resignation. He clearly knew she wanted to be with her family and if anything, she was relieved to not have to deal with him right now.
But she knew she’d stay true to her word and talk to him when she got home.
Reid’s head was still spinning in confusion. He’d just watched Ashlynn leave with her family and things were finally quiet enough where he could have an actual conversation with his superiors. The police chief lent them his office so they could talk.
“What the hell just happened out there?” he demanded. “I mean, I know what happened, but I don’t know how we got there.”
“Reid,” Bob began, “you know how an arson investigation goes. We have to follow the clues.”
He nodded.
“And from the get-go, all those clues were obvious in how they pointed to Ashlynn.” He paused. “Almost too obvious.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, you remember your training. Most people starting a fire are meticulous about not leaving evidence behind. The scene at Lavish Locks had everything but a neon sign pointing to Ashlynn!” He laughed softly. “I honestly thought she had to be the most clueless arsonist ever.”
“That’s when you have to start questioning what you find,” Dennis chimed in. “The fact that Becky’s first words to us were, ‘Ashlynn Donovan did this’ raised a bit of a red flag. First, because most business owners who just had their livelihood destroyed are more concerned with the loss. Becky’s only concern was telling us about her fights with Ashlynn.”
“I’ve known the Donovan family since they were kids,” Bob added. “Ashlynn’s definitely the hothead of the family, but she’s not destructive.”
Raking a hand through his hair, Reid felt more confused than he was minutes ago. “Then why accuse her at all? Why put her through all of this?”
“Technically, we never accused her,” the inspector pointed out. “Not formally. She was definitely a person of interest, but somehow this whole thing snowballed.”
